coelacanth

American  

[see-luh-kanth] / ˈsi ləˌkænθ /

noun

1. a crossopterygian fish, Latimeria chalumnae, thought to have been extinct since the Cretaceous Period but found in 1938 off the coast of southern Africa.

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coelacanth British  

/ ˈsiːləˌkænθ /

noun

1. a primitive marine bony fish of the genus Latimeria (subclass Crossopterygii ), having fleshy limblike pectoral fins and occurring off the coast of E Africa: thought to be extinct until a living specimen was discovered in 1938

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coelacanth Scientific  

/ sē′lə-kănth′ /

1. Any of various fishes of the group Coelacanthiformes or Actinistia, having lobed, fleshy fins. Coelacanths are crossopterygians, the ancient group of lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to land vertebrates. They were known only from Paleozoic and Mesozoic fossils until a living species (Latimeria chalumnae) was found in the Indian Ocean in 1938. A second Latimeria species was described in 1999.

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Other Word Forms

• coelacanthine adjective

Etymology

Origin of coelacanth

1605–15; < New Latin Coelacanthus originally a genus name, equivalent to coel- coel- + Greek -akanthos -spined, -thorned, adj. derivative of ákantha spine, thorn

Example Sentences

Most belong to an extinct family of coelacanths known as the Mawsoniidae, which are closely related to the modern species still living today.

From Science Daily

In 1859 Charles Darwin coined the term “living fossil” to describe lineages that have looked the same for tens of millions of years, such as the coelacanth, sturgeon, and horseshoe crab.

From Science Magazine

Several of those compounds also trigger receptors in bony fish such as zebrafish and the “living fossil” coelacanth, and all of them taste bitter to humans.

From Science Magazine

The plattenkalk has yielded many different species, including ancient fish like coelacanths and theropod dinosaurs.

From Salon

When those fossilized creatures were living, this area was blanketed by a balmy bay and was home to sharks that sported swordlike spines, coelacanths and the oldest known ancestor to vampire squids.

From New York Times